Improvement in corn-harvesters



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. 0. N. CHASE. CORN HARVESTER.

No. 40,243. Patented 0a. 13, 1863.

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b. N. CHASE.

CORN HARVESTER.

No.40,24s. Patented-Oct. 13, 18.63.

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UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

oTIs N, cease, on BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

l M PROVEMENT [N .CQRN-HARVEST'ERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,243, dated October13, 1863.

.L'O cu whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Or s N. CHASE, of Boston, in'the county ofSuffolkand Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and lm provedCorn-Harvester for HarvestingOorn and other Products; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same and its construction and operation, reference being bad to theannexed drawings, of which- Figure l is a top view. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation; Fig. 3 is a side elevation with one wheel, A, removed, andFig. at is a detached view of the cutter g Letters of reference .areused.

To enable others skilled in the art to'make and use my invention. I willproceed to describe the same and its construction and operation.

The wheels A A have on their outer perimeter projections for insuringrotation while-the harvester progresses. The wheels 'A A and their axlea are connected by the ratchet-wheel and pawl 00 av, so that allrotate'together forward, but independently backward.

Supported on the axle a is the frame B,' The drivers' properly bracedfor strength. I platform- B and seat thereon, B, the attendantsplatform.B in the rear, which platform is beneath the level of the axlea, either in front or rear of the same, the upright posts andcross-beams B B B, and various'other beams, s s, all form parts of saidframe. 'The width of the frame B is designed to be equal to that of thedistance between the two rows of corn, and the distance between wheelsis such that each would be in the next furrowone on each side of the tworows of corn. The sides of said frame near the front are beveled inwardor narrowed so that the front end of said frame B is of less width thanthe middle or rear. The axle a turns freely on bearings in said frame B.Below said frame, and connected with it by a hinged joint near the axlea, is the, beam 0, to the. front end of which horses or other power isto be attached for drawing the harvester forward. The frame B and beam 0are also connected by thescrew u, so that the driver may by turning suchscrew elevate or depress at pleasure the front end of said frame B. i I

The beam 0 maybe otherwise placed and attached to the frame B, and" therollers ff may be otherwise'attached to the frame B and elevated anddepressed in a different manner.

A lever or other device may be substituted in-- stead of screw e. I v

The spring guide-beam D is connected with the frame B by the bolts b bb, and is pressed toward said frame by the spring'c, so that such beamconstantly tends to rest in contact with the frame B. The beam D is(except as follows) a rectangular beam. A triangular portion is removedfrom the inner side of said beam 1) at its front end, so that said beamis Ibeveled at'its front end, but in a direction opthat two rows of cornmay be similarly gathered at one and the same time. This arrangement,however, would requireja slight change in the location of thegear-wheels 0 0'0, as also of the beam 0. Toward. the apex of saidangular space. 1) are the rolleror gatherers f f,

. which consist oftwo rollers inclined forward,

which may be grooved, fluted, or otherwise, the front lower ends ofwhich are so located that as the harvester progresses the standing cornbefore the space D will be guided by said beveled sides of said frame Band beam D. through said spaceD, and between the bearings ofsaid'rollers d d, hereinafter described, between the said rollers ff,and will there be caught between said rollers. The rotation of theserollersff will draw the portions of the corn above said rollers towardthe rollers f j in a direction,perpendicular to the plane of their axisof rotation. The stalks will be drawn between and below said rollers andfall I to the ground through the orifice before'named, while the ears of,corn,being composed of a harder and more incompressible materia-hwillnot pass between said rollers, but will be severed from the stalks andremain above said rollers.

In order to more effectually remove the husks from the cars, a screw-camand pin or other device may be attached to the upper portion of eitheror both therollers fffor the purpose of giviriga vibrating motion in theline Oftheir'axes to one or both of the rollers ff whilethey rotate,thus giving a revolving motion to the stalks and ears, and exposing allsides .of the unhusked car at the butt tothe' action of the rollers f f,thereby accomplishing the double object, of gathering and husking at oneand thesame time with the same set ofrolls.

In order that the stalks may freely fall to the.

ground'aiter having passed between said rollersff, it is proper that theorifice left for-the purpose should be of about equal'length withtherollers ,f. The spring q is above said rollers ff, an when not forcedaway rests against rollers ff, as aforesaid, will, in passiiig saidspring q, force said spring-one side until the corn is behind thespring, when the spring re.- .turns to its former position. The spring qis adjustable by a set-screw near f. The guide 72/ is also secured and.adjustable by a setjscrew at its end opposite the spring q. f

The spring qaiid guide -h may be. used separately, it desirable.

The upper ends of the rollers ff may be made of lessdiameter than theportions below, so as" topermit the extreme tops of the stalks to falifreely between or a knife may.

he attachcd'for cutting such tops. The roll e'rs f f turn on hearings inboxes at f f, attached to the cross beam B" of theframe-B. The outerroller is pressed against the'iiiner 'roller by a spring at its bearingj, which spring is regulated by the screw 1;, so as to al-' low therollers f f to give when forced-apart.

Above the uoxesflf upon each roller is a small gear-wheel, which-eachplay into a small geanwheelbelow, so as to insure rotation even w henthe rollers f fare pressed apart. The lower endlof the inner rollerfturns on a hearing or in a box connected with the frame B, while thelower end of the outer roller fturns on a bearing or in a box connectedwith the beam D,.so, that an open space is left between said bearin gsdd. A groove is cut round the lower endsof said rollers at the bearingsdd; into which. a'band is inserted, and fastens each of the respectiverollers to the frame-B and spring guide-beam 'D. The outer surface ofthese bands or bearings interposesno obstacle to the passage of thecorn,'being sunk .fiush with the surface of the respective bearings.These bands may housed in connection with the rods t t, or they. may beused separately, if desirable, through which the standing corn passesbefore it reaches the rollers ff, and so that when the rollers f f areforced apartthe yielding of the spring 0 will allow ihe'beam. D andouter rollerf to yield also. Thus the beam 1) servesas' a guide for thestanding corn, as a support for the outer roller, and as a spring forsaid rollers. The axis of said rollers ff may be extended beyond saidbearings 11 d, I

and the outer one may-turn in a bearing in the rod t, connected with thebeam D, and .theinner one may turn on a bearing in'the rod t, connectedwiththe frame B. These rods tt may also assist in guiding the standingcorn.

The wheel 0 is attached to the axle a. as a center, and plays into apinionon the'shaft 4", which shaft turns on hearings in the uprightposts B{ B of the frame B. At the opposite end pf said shaft .7 is thebevel-gear wheel in, which wheel plays-into a bevel-gear wheelm,attached to the upper-end of the inner roller f, so that the rotation ofthe wheels A A! is communicated throughlhe a-xle'a and shaft 0' to therollersff, causing them to rotate in such a inanneras shalltend todrawwhatever is introduced between them downward.

, The incline plane it is. attached to the.cross-' beam B of the frame Bby clamp,-screw in the slots h h. Near t-he'lower end of this plane itare the elastic roll ers' or liuskers k k for removing the husks fromthe care. These rollers arev pressed together by springs at the bearingsof the lower r'o'ller, k. v The bushing-rollers It It maybe elastic orotherwise.

and backward at the slots h It", so as to increasev or diminish thedistance between the front lower end of said plane and theflower roller,k, so that a busked' ear mayfall'between said roller/c and inclinedplane it upon the inclined plane Z In order to facilitatethesevered earsfalling on the plane h, the outer roller f may be a little elevatedabovethe in ner roller-f. The said plane it is so'arranged I that thecorn, being severedas'at'oresaid, will .slidedownsaid plane and guideh", and the; vhusks thereof will be caught between and drawn betweensaid rollersk k, and will be forcibly torn from theears', while the carswill fall upon said inclined plane I.

I The rollers 70 k are protected fronrthe weather above and behind by acovering,which'covering also serves as a support for the guide h'(, andis adjustable backward and forward, so

as to adjust theguide h higher or lower'on the inclined plane h. Beneathsaid' huskers k k and inclined plane It isthe inclined plane I, whichserves to guide the hiis'ked ears of corn into the bag or receptacle am.Thisreceptm cle maybe supported on the rods B B'.

tilled with the husked corn. Theaxis of the upper roller, k,is extended,andthegear-wheeh 0 is thereupon, into which the gear-wheel '0 plays, soas to cause-the rotation of the rollers 70 k" while the harvesterprogresses. The roll 'ersk k maybeplaced parallel or otherwise asrespects the rollgrs' f f. The cutter y is for cutting the stal' s after01: while the corn is being gathered. jThis cutter is attached to.

The inclined plane h is adjustableyforward;

The platform is for the attendant, 'who sup- I plies empty receptaclesas he removes those passed, the spring q will return.

clamped at its rear, so that it may cut at a proper angle and also aproper width. The operation of the machine is as follows:

"Horses or other power is connected with the beam 0. The cutter y is setand clamped so as to cut at the proper height and width. The

driver mounts his platform B and by means corn-row or corn-rows so thatthe standing corn, as the harvester progresses, shall come within thespace D. The corn is guided by the sides of said space between andbeyondthe bearings dd and between the rollers f f. One rotation of the wheelsAAforward causes the rollers ff andthe rollers k k to rotate, 'asbeforestated. Thestan'dingcorn wjllbedrawn' between said rollers, willforce the spring '11 aside, and the ungathered cars will pass aboveandbehind such spring. The ears having so The stalks will be drawnbetween said rollers ff, while the ears will remain above, as described,and will fall upon and slide down the inclined plane it and guide h.Near the lower end of said plane It the husks will be-caught and tornoff by said rollers 70 k, while the hnsked ears will fall betweensaidplane it and roller k upon and down the inclined plane 1 into thereceptacle at a. As one receptacle is filled it is removed and anotherone supplied by the attendant. The cutter severs the stalks near theground as 'they pass beneath the rollers ff. As the wheels AA turnbackward independently, the harvester is easily turned. The standingcorn is introduced by suitable means between rollers, as at f f.. Therotation of these rollers will draw the stalks be tween, but the greaterincompressibility of the ears will prevent their passing between suchrollers. Such rollers may be of diflerent forms from those described,may be mounted on difierently planned and constructed frames orvehicles, or mayhave the material to be har-' vested introduceddifferently, yet the mode of separating the ears from the stalks will besub' stantially as described. For introducing the standing corn betweenthe rollers ff a spaceis left between the bearing or boxes of the an.ers ff at d d, so that there shall .be no obstruction to the progress ofthe standing cor'n' between the rollers ff.

The rollers ff-may be used separate from v the rollers k k, ifdesirable.

What- I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The frame B of the harvester, provided with the drivers platform B inthe front and the atteudants platform B in the .rear, and with thegathering-rollers f f and the conduit l to conduct the harvestedmaterial into 'receptacles near said platform B, substantially asdescribed, and for the purposes set forth. v

2. The-spring guide-beam D or its equivalent, in combination with theinclined rollers ff, substantially as described. I

3. The combination of the spring (1 or its equivalent with rollers ffand beam l), substantially as described.

4. The cutter 3 attached to the frame B, in combination with the rollersf f, substantially as described, for the purposes specified. OTIS N.CHASE. Witnesses:

J. L. ENGLISH, MUNROE STEVENS.

